Railway track-motor.



No. 897,406. TATRNTRD SEPT. 1, 1908.

T. J. RITTRR. RAILWAY TRAGK MOTOR.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 23; 1907.

THE NaRR/s PsrERs co., wAsHlNaraNfn. c.

PATENTED SEPT-1, 1908.

I. J. RITTER.

RAILWAY TRACK MOTOR.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 23, 1907.

2 SH-EETSfBI-IBET 2.

Witnesses.

UNTTED sTATns PATENT oFFroE.

FRANKLIN J. RITTER, OF CHAPMAN, NEBRASKA.

RAILWAY TRACK-MOTOR.

.To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANKLIN J. RITTER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chapman, in the county of Merrick and State of Nebraska,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in RailwayTrack-Motors, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to track motors, designed to be actuatedby themovement of trains of cars over a railway track, and has for its objectto utilize the force exerted by the weight of the cars transmittedthrough the movement of the wheels of the train in passing along thetrack.

Another object of the invention is to improve the construction andincrease the utility and efficiency of the improved device.

lVith these and other objects in view, the invention consists in certainnovel features of construction as hereafter shown and de scribed andspecifically pointed out in the claims, and in the drawings employed forillustrating the invention is shown the preferred form of embodiment ofthe saine, but it will be understood that I do not desire to be limitedto the precise construction shown,

' as various changes may be made within the scope of the appended claimswithout sacri iicing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a side elevation of the improved deviceapplied with the track in longitudinal section, and with one car wheelin position upon the track. Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional detail ofthe adjacent portions of two of the receiving tanks with the controllingvalves associatedy therewith.

Fig. 3 is a sectional detail illustrating a slight modification in theconstruction. Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional detail of a modifiedarrangement of the improved device. Fig. 5 is a plan view of the partsshown in Fig. 4.

Itis well known that the power exerted by a moving train when passingover a railway track is relatively l. rge, and the object of theimproved apparatus herewith described and illustrated is to utilize thisheretofore wasted energy to accomplish useful work, and without in anymanner interfering with the operations of the trains or detracting fromthe force or power necessary to operate the train.

The improved device comprises an air pump located adjacent to the trackand a spring controlled lever arranged in the path of the wheels of thetrain and connected to the plunger of the pump, so that the wheelsSpecification of Letters Patent.

Application filed November 23, 1907.

Patented Sept. l, 1908.

Serial No. 403,514.

in passing over the lever depress the same and thus actuate the airpump, the air pump being thus actuated one stroke by each wheel of thetrain. The lever is designed to be engaged by the Yflanges of thewheels, as they pass over the track, and thus operated withoutinterfering with the ordinary operation of the train.

Associated with the air pump is a receiving tank or a series of coupledreceiving tanks, the tanks having pressure controlling devices betweenthem so th at when the pressure in the first tank reaches to a certainpredetermined point, the controlling valve is operated and the surplusair conducted to the second tank, and when the pressure in the secondtank reaches a certain predetermined point it operates another pressurevalve and thus transmits the air to a third tank, and so on through asmany tanks as may be desired.

The tanks are provided with outlet pipes and controlling valves andrequisite pressure gages, so that the air may be conducted from any oneor more of the tanks and employed for any required purpose, such as therunning of water pumps, the machinery of repair shops, or for any otherrequired purpose.

-In the drawings, the conventional section of a railway track is showncomprising a rail 10 with its ties 11 of the usual construction, andwith a car wheel at 12 mounted on the rail.

A conventional air pump is represented at 13 and provided with a plunger14, and with a receiving tank at 15 connected by a pipe 16 with thepump, the pipe having a check valve 17, while the intake pipe forthe-pump is represented at 18 and provided with a check valve 19, sothat the operation of the plunger 14 will cause air underpressure to besupplied to the tank 15. The pump 13 is located adjacent to one of therails 10 of the track and preferably embedded in the road bed below theties 11 and surrounded by a protecting casing 20. The plunger 14 isprovided with a combined guide device andl hood 21, rigidly connected asby clamp screws 22 to the head portion of the plunger, and eXtending atits lower end around the outer surface of the cylinder in the pump 13and closely engaging the same and slidable thereover, so that as theplunger is moved upwardly and downwardly, the hood 21 moves therewithupon the outer face of the pump cylinder, and thus not only guides thestopping box 23 of the pump, but also serves as a guide to the upper endof the plunger and prevents lateral movement thereof when operated, ashereafter explained.

Pivoted at 24 adjacent to the rail 10 is a lever 25, preferably up-bentintermediate its ends, as at 26, and coupled at the upper end by links27 to the plunger 14 of the air pump. The pivotal points 24-28 betweenthe lever 25 and links 27 are located suflieiently below the upper lineof the tread of the rail as to enable the treads of the wheels to passover them, while the up-bent portion 26 hangs ush with the top of therail tread, so that the flanges of the wheels will engage the upbentportion and thus depress the lever the depth of the flanges of thewheels as they pass over the lever. A spring 29 is located beneath thelever 25, and operates to maintain the sameyieldably in its upwardposition, and thus return the lever to its upward position after eachstroke produced by the ac,

tion of the wheels in passing along the track, as will be obvious. Thepivot 24 is connected to a head 30 of a bolt 35 connected to one of theties 11, as shown.

A supply pipe 36 leads from the tank 15 and is provided with acontrolling valve 37, and may be conducted to any required distance toenable the compressed air from the tank to be utilized as required. Bythis simf ple arrangement it will be obvious that as the trains passover the track, each wheel depresses the lever 25 and produces onestroke of the air pump 13, and thus 'lills the tank 15 gradually withcompressed air, the degree of COIIlpTeSSlOIl being governed by asuitable preSSulG Valve represented at 38, the pressure valve beingarranged to permit the escape of the surplus air when a certainpredetermined pressure is reached..

In Fig. 1 a slightly different arrangement of the tanks is shown, theinitial tank 15 being` located above the track instead of being embeddedbeneath the track, as in Figs. 4 and 5, and preferably supported upon asuitable platform 39. Two other tanks 40-41 are also employed in themodified construction and connected by pipes 42'-43, the' pipe 42 havinga pressure valve 44 between the tanks 15 and 40, and the pipe 43 havingapressure valve 45 located between the tanks 40 and 41, the pipe 42 alsohaving a controlling Vsurplus air to pass into the ,tank 41, and so onto any required extent.

Leading from the tanks 15d-40-41 are supply pipes 36-49g50, the pipescoupled by lateral branches 51-52. The pipe 36 is provided withcontrolling valves 37-54 on opposite sides of the lateral branch 51, thepipe 49 is -provided with controlling valves 5556, while the pipe 50 isprovided with controlling valves 57-58. The lateral branches 51-52 areprovided respectively with controlling valves 59-60, while the tanks areprovided respectively with pressure gages as indicated at 61-62-63. Bythis simple arrangement any required amount of compressed air may bestored in the various tanks and utilized for any required purpose,

the tanks being preferably formed of increasing size, as shown.

The piping shown in Fig. 1 enables the air from any one of the tanks,any two of the tanks, or from all of the tanks to be utilized asrequired by simply manipulating the various controlling valves in thepiping, as will be obvious.

One of the pressure valves is shown in section in Fig. 2, and comprisesa casing having two parallel passages 64-65, one passage connected toone tank, as 15, and the other l' passage connected to the next tank, as40, as shown. A plunger 66 is disposed within the casing of the valveand serves as a closure to the passages 64-65, and held yieldably inposition by a spring 67, the spring provided with a follower plate 68controlled by an adjusting screw 69 operating through the upper end ofthe valve casing. The spring 67 will be of suflicient force to resistthe normal pressure of the air in the tank 15, but will the pressure inthe initial tank rises above thenormal, as heretofore explained.

In Fig. 3 a slight modification in the conjfl struction is shownconsisting in connecting the operating lever 25 directly tothe plungerof the pump by the links 27, the links being connected to the leveropposite the upturned intermediate portion 26, and the lever coupled 'l1i at its longer end to the bolt 35 passing through one of the ties 11.The shorter end of the lever 25 is left free, as at 69; this end 69being located below the p ath of the iianges of the wheel, so that theflanges of the wheel will freely mount the upturned portion 26 of thelever.

In the modification shown in Fig. 3 a leaf spring 70 is shown arrangedto yieldably support the lever 25 instead of the coil spring 29 Y shownin Figs. 1 and 4 of the drawings, which form of spring may be employedunder some circumstances, as required. Any required number of levers andair pumps maybe employed and located at suitable intervals along thetrack so that the amount of air forced into the tanks may be increasedat will, and thus correspondingly decrease the time required to providethe requisite pressure and quantity of air.

The intake pipe 18 for the air pump will preferably be conductedupwardly through the road bed into one of the spaces between the tiesand provided with a guard cap 7l, and if preferred this pipe may beconducted to any required distance, as will be obvious.

The device may be employed for compressing water or other liquid insteadof air, when the power required is hydraulic instead of pneumatic, andthe power may be also employed without material structural change foroperating pumps and like devices.

Having thus described the nature of the invention, what is claimed asnew is 1. The combination with a railway track including the rails andties, of an air compressing device located between said ties, aplurality of communicating tanks of progressively increasing size, eachtank having an outlet pipe, branch pipes connecting said outlet pipes,means whereby the air from said compressing device is transmitted to thesmaller of said tanks, means whereby the compressed air may be conveyedprogressively through all of the tanks, and means whereby saidcompressing device is actuated bylthe wheels of the cars passing oversaid rai s.

2. The combination with the track rails and ties of a railway, oi' anair compressing device including a cylinder and a plunger rod, a pivotedtrack lever having connection with said plunger rod and arranged foroperation by the engagement therewith of the wheels of the cars passingover the rails, and a hood carried by said plunger rod and eX- tendingover the cylinder and thereby serving as a guide to the plunger rod andas a shield to the cylinder.

3. In a device of the class described, an air compressing device, aplurality of tanks of progressively increasing size having communicationwith one another, each tank having an outlet, branch pipes connectingsaid outlets, and means governing the 'flow of air from one tank toanother.

4. In a device of the character described, an air compressing deviceincluding a cylinder and plunger rod, a lever having connection with theplunger4 rod, a plurality of tanks of progressively increasing size,means f whereby the air from said. compressing device is transmitted tothe smaller of said tanks, means for controlling the air from saidtanks, and means controlling the ilow of air from one tank to another.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

FRANKLIN J. RITTER.

Vitnesses J. FRIMANN, A. J. FRIMANN.

